Looming election brings Labour together

At the Peter Mandelson speech in Westminster on going for economic growth. The Prime Minister’s most senior cabinet minister supports the government shock!

But this is a bit of a moment. Peter Mandelson’s post-pre-Budget report blues have kept him away from microphones since 9 December. He was unimpressed with a PBR that trumpeted protected spending and wasn’t honest enough about what would have to be cut – more expected from the Labour-dominated Treasury Select Committee on this later today.

It wasn’t a prolonged Edward Heath-style sulk. But to have your supposed top strategist and your chief bouncer against unhappy Blairites holding back and unhappy wasn’t a great start to a general election year.

Now he’s back, and in the speech this morning it’s all happy Labour families again. The PBR is “far more credible” than the media or political opponents suggest.

Rigid departmental spending cuts can’t be fixed now, he says, because the times are too uncertain. But the “politics of distribution” aren’t enough, we also need the “politics of production” – a smarter state building capabilities in the new industries.

Growth, he sings in happy accord with Gordon Brown, is “the best antidote to debt.” But does that mean you use any additional proceeds from growth to keep up spending or pay off the deficit? 

If there have been private conversations amongst some Cabinet members about unseating the PM, Lord Mandelson appears to be signalling that he’s not part of it.

There has been a few weeks of unhappiness and restlessness at the top table of government. Peter Mandelson is signalling that he’s drawing a line under it. Does that go for everyone else in Cabinet? Probably, but we won’t know for sure until next week is over.

Peter Mandelson now euphoric about the PBR. He said in Q&A session that his four-week silence since it was delivered was simply because of a work trip to India and a holiday break. The PBR is “first rate”, “absoloutely dead right”.

Asked what about the split with Gordon Brown on the government’s clarity on deficit reduction he said “what about another question” and said it was lobby correspondent fuss about nothing.